Mets need 7 wins on homestand.

John Munson/The Star-LedgerTerry Collins has every reason to be smiling. His leadership has contributed to the Mets retaining relevance through much adversity. Collins has to be a leading candidate for manager of the year.

It is August 1 and miraculously the Mets still have an outside shot at the wild card.

I say miraculously because this was a team that was projected to be, at best, a five hundred team when healthy.

David Wright and Ike Davis missed big chunks of the first half and Chris Young (remember him) went down early as well. Jason Bay has produced very little and Angel Pagan has looked more like what he really is ... a fourth outfielder.

Yet with all that adversity, the Mets are two games over five hundred and 7 1/2 games out of a wild card spot. As i previously wrote, the schedule favors the Mets for the last two months of the season. The upcoming 10 game homestand is the most favorable part of that schedule.

Tonight the Mets open a three game series against the pesky Marlins followed by a three game series against the Braves and four games against the cellar dwelling Padres.

To remain relevant, the Mets need to win at least seven of the 10 games during this homestand (the equivalent of winning each of the 3 series), a tall order but certainly achievable.

The Marlins have been a thorn in the Mets side the last few years. Now would be a good time to exact some revenge and use the Marlins as a springboard to re-entry into the wild card race.

This weekend the Braves come to town and, needless to say, that is the biggest series of the homestand. They will have the opportunity to close the gap quickly on their chief competitor for the wild card. At a minimum they need to take the series and at least make up 1 game in the standings.

Only four teams in the major leagues have a record worse than San Diego. It is imperative that the Mets beat up on the Padres. Time is running out and the Mets need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

The Braves embark upon a nine game road trip while the Mets are playing ten games at home. Seven wins should be enough to gain at least one game in the standings. Who knows, if the Braves hit a smal bump in the road, seven wins may move the Mets two and a half games closer.

Anything less than seven wins amounts to treading water. Since the Braves are away and the Mets are home the next week and a half, gaining no ground during that time is the same as moving backwards in the standings.

Hopefully Mike Pelfrey can build on his recent complete game effort and get this homestand off on the right foot. The Mets have remained relevant until August. The next goal is to remain relevant through September 1. Then it becomes a short season where anything can happen.

The drive to meaningful September games begins tonight. Let's Go Mets!